Morgan Lake pulls herself from water onto bridge piling

Federal officials will investigate last week's crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as new cellphone video shows the survivor swimming to safety moments after her car plunged off the bridge Friday night.

Morgan Lake was clearly hurting as she hung on to the rocks around a bridge piling. It took her almost a minute until she could actually pull herself out of the water, the video showed.

The video was taken by a Virginia Realtor, Scott Fortney, who said he was three cars behind the tractor-trailer that hit Lake's car, pushing it over the side of the bridge.

Fortney said he saw Lake's car go under water and start filling with water while she was still buckled in. He started recording after she emerged from the water.

"I was thankful to see her get to the rocks so quickly. She was definitely disoriented," Fortney told 11 News.

Several people on the bridge began talking to Lake, trying to keep her calm.

"Had she not been clinging to the rocks, I think a number of us would have probably jumped in after her. It was only about 30 feet. I could see where the vehicle was. I could see the car underwater. I could see the wheel, it was only about a foot underwater," said Fortney, who put his video on YouTube.

Feds to investigate

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday evening it will investigate the accident as calls from AAA and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski grew louder for federal officials to investigate the safety of the Bay Bridge and its restraint systems.

"It could have been somebody elderly. There could have been babies in that car. It doesn't matter. You can't fall 40 feet off a bridge after being rear-ended by a truck and think it's OK," Mikulski said.

She and other officials are urging the NTSB to investigate the bridge structure, traffic patterns and whether it meets current federal standards, which require bridge barriers to contain passenger cars during a crash.

The eastbound span -- where Lake's crash occurred Friday night -- opened more than 60 years ago.

The NTSB said Wednesday it will send two investigators from the Office of Highway Safety to Maryland to meet with local authorities about the July 19 crash. Officials said the agency will determine if there are any nationwide safety issues involved.

The Maryland Transportation Authority said it welcomes the federal involvement in its ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of motorists crossing the Bay Bridge.

YOU ARE WATCHING WBAL @11:00. LIVE, LOCAL, LATEBREAKING. GOOD EVENING. INVESTIGATORS INVESTIGATED THE CRASH AND THE SAFETY OF THE BRIDGE ITSELF. A 22-YEAR-OLD SURVIVED AND IS RECOVERING AT HOME. THE WORLD GOT A GLIMPSE AT HOW TOUGH AND HOW BRAVE A SURVIVOR SHE REALLY IS. WE HAVE IT LIVE FOR THE BIG STORY. WE'RE SENDING HELP. WE ARE SENDING HELP. WE TOLD THEM THERE WAS A REALLY BAD ACCIDENT AND THAT YOU ARE IN THE WATER. YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON. AN AMAZING NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE BAY BRIDGE ACCIDENT. PHONE VIDEO SHOT MOMENTS AFTER THE 22-YEAR-OLD'S CAR FELL OFF THE BRIDGE AND PLUNGED INTO THE WATER. AS SOON AS HE SAW HER CIRCUS, HE HAD THE PHONE. I WAS THANKFUL TO SEE HER GET TO THE ROCK SO QUICKLY. SHE WAS DISORIENTED. WE ARE COMING. HOLD ON. HELP IS COMING. OK? YOU ARE GOING TO BE FINE. THERE WERE THREE CARS BEHIND THE TRACTOR TRAILER REAR-ENDED HER. A NUMBER OF US WOULD HAVE JUMPED IN AFTER HER. I COULD SEE THE VEHICLE AND THE CAR. I COULD SEE THE WHEELS. FIVE DAYS LATER, SENATOR BARBARA MIKULSKI JOINED FOR A CALL TO INVESTIGATE. THE COULD HAVE BEEN BABIES IN THAT CAR. YOU CANNOT FALL 40 FEET OFF A BRIDGE AND GET TAIL ENDED BY A TRUCK AND THINK IT IS OK. THEY WANT A LOOK AT TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND TO SEE IF IT WILL MEET FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS. AND, LATE, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, THE NTSB AGREED TO TAKE THE CASE. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SAYS THAT THEY WILL MEET WITH STATE AUTHORITIES AS EARLY AS TOMORROW. THE